Chương 688: Crown Prince Liu Chen Regent for Two Months

Xun Yu nodded, stroking his beard with relief: "That's good. With rules in place, there's no need to worry about it becoming too powerful. Your Majesty has considered everything thoroughly."

Liu Ce tapped on the imperial desk, and after the hall quieted down, he said loudly:

"Zhou Yu was promoted one rank for his meritorious service in commanding the navy and exploring the open seas. He was awarded a million coins and granted the first residence in the south of the city. The soldiers, craftsmen, and crew members who accompanied him were all rewarded according to their merits. Those who died in the line of duty were given the same treatment as soldiers who died in battle.

Their families were supported by the court, and their children's schooling and their elderly parents' care were all taken care of. No one was neglected."

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great favor!" Zhou Yu rose, bowed, and clasped his hands in a salute, his voice firm and powerful.

"Get up," Liu Ce waved his hand, his tone expectant.

"This is just the beginning. The three naval forces will continue to train, build bigger ships, and more powerful cannons. In the future, we will build ships of three thousand tons, five thousand tons, and ten thousand tons."

We must continue to expand our ocean shipping routes, heading west to see what Europe and Rome are like; heading east and south to thoroughly explore the Americas and Australia. We also need to build more outposts, and keep up with immigration so that we can spread our agriculture, laws, and writing system.

What I desire is not a few isolated islands, but the prestige of the Han Dynasty, spreading throughout the four seas, so that everyone in the world knows that beyond the seas lies the mighty Han Dynasty, incredibly powerful and vast.

"Your subject obeys!" Zhou Yu looked up, his eyes gleaming, as if he could already see the distant waves.

"Within ten years, I will ensure that the dragon flag of the Han Dynasty flies across all the continents and seas! Let the whole world know that there is a mighty Han Dynasty on the seas, and no one can afford to offend it!"

Looking at the spirited young general before them, and recalling the "maritime expansion" that everyone thought was outrageous four years ago, they couldn't help but sigh: This Emperor and this General Zhou are truly going to pave the way for the Han Dynasty to the ends of the sea.

When the court session ended, the ministers lingered in small groups, chatting excitedly. Shen Wansan pulled Zhou Yu aside, bombarding him with questions and discussing how to expand his trading company overseas...

Cheng Yaojin and Zhang Fei made a pact to hunt jaguars together on their next voyage, and they even started competing to see who would catch one first...

Xun Yu and Lu Bing walked and talked, discussing how to improve the monitoring system for overseas outposts.

..................

In May of the fifteenth year of Shenwu's reign, Crown Prince Liu Chen had been acting as regent for two months.

These past two months have been both busy and leisurely... I've mostly dealt with trivial matters like "a certain county is experiencing drought and is requesting relief," "a certain department wants to increase its budget," and "the Hanlin Academy is clamoring to add annotations to a certain book." There haven't been any earth-shattering major cases.

Liu Chen was steady and reliable in his work. He approved every document meticulously, without any major errors. His handwriting was neat and his ideas were clear.

After court, when he returned to the Eastern Palace, he could still find time to check accounts with the Second Prince Liu Heng and chat about the operation of Da Han Tong. The two brothers chatted and lived a pretty comfortable life.

Liu Ce watched from the sidelines for two months, neither praising nor scolding. Occasionally, he would come back and flip through the folded documents that Liu Chen had reviewed, write a "read" on them, and then put them aside as if nothing had happened.

Liu Chen was quite pleased with himself, thinking that he had done a good job as regent and that his father would be satisfied. He walked with a swagger.

Until the document regarding the Jiangnan disaster relief case was handed over.

Floods have struck southern China, damaging houses and farmland in several counties...

The imperial court allocated a batch of "special disaster relief grains," and the disaster relief official sent to the local area was named Chen Erniu... who was the nephew of Chen Tiezhu, the founding earl.

When Chen Erniu arrived at the destination, he colluded with the local prefect to secretly sell the good grain and replace it with stale rice mixed with sand. He also embezzled a lot of disaster relief funds and lined his own pockets.

The people were already suffering from disaster and couldn't get enough to eat. They were then forced to eat rice mixed with sand, and several people starved to death.

The case was investigated by the Jiangnan Division of the Ministry of Justice. There were witnesses and physical evidence, and the chain of evidence was solid. There was no way to escape. Even Chen Erniu himself signed the document.

The Ministry of Justice drafted a sentence of "death with reprieve" and submitted it to the Crown Prince for approval.

The folding paper was placed on the table. Liu Chen held the pen, pondered for a long time, and did not write.

He knew Chen Tiezhu well.

He was one of the earliest brothers who followed his father in establishing his career in Youzhou. He made many contributions during the conquest of the country and has many scars on his body. He always charged ahead in battle.

After the founding of the nation, he was granted the title of Earl and remained stationed in the northern border. He was honest and upright, never forming cliques or engaging in private activities. During festivals, he would send people to deliver wild game from the northern border to the palace.

When he was a child, his father took him to the military camp in Zhuozhou. Chen Tiezhu even held him, stuffed wild dates into his mouth, and smiled with wrinkles all over his face. He was very kind and said to him, "Young prince, you must be a good king in the future and don't let us old guys shed blood in vain."

He's such a veteran, how heartbroken he would be if his own nephew were killed. He's so old, how could he possibly live?

Liu Chen gritted his teeth, thinking of "governing the country with benevolence," and with a stroke of his vermilion brush, wrote: "Considering Chen Tiezhu's merits in founding the nation, he is spared death but exiled to Anxi; half of his property is confiscated, and the embezzled grain is converted into money to compensate the farmers.

— Crown Prince Chen" After issuing the approval, he felt that he had both handled the case and saved face for the veteran official, demonstrating both benevolence and adherence to the law—a perfect outcome.

After court, he went to the Lizheng Hall and spoke to Empress Cai Yan:

"Mother, you see, I didn't go to extremes and saved face for Earl Chen. I neither broke the law nor failed to consider the loyalty of a meritorious official. I think I handled it well."

Cai Yan was embroidering a picture when she glanced at the folded paper. She neither praised nor scolded it, but simply said, "Go show it to your father. He's in his study in the side hall."

Liu Chen was taken aback: "Huh? Isn't Father in his own palace?"

"I've been here for a while." Cai Yan lowered her head and continued embroidering, her stitches steady.

"Go on, let your father take a look."

Liu Chen was a little apprehensive, but he still took the folded paper to the Imperial Study.

In the imperial study, Liu Ce was peeling and eating sour dates, wincing from the sourness. Seeing him enter, he raised his chin and asked, "You're here? Have you finished reviewing the cases in Jiangnan?"

"Father." Liu Chen handed over the folded document, a little nervously.

"I have approved the case in Jiangnan. Please see if this method of handling it is acceptable."

Liu Ce took it, glanced at it, and said slowly:

"Oh, so you know how to give Old Chen face? How kind of you."

The tone was neither positive nor negative, just neutral.

Liu Chen's heart skipped a beat... He knew his father's tone all too well.

When he was nine years old, he said, "Grandpa said that the way of the sage is for the ruler to act as a ruler and his subjects to act as subjects." His father also said "Oh" and then spent an afternoon arguing with him that "Confucianism is a tool, not a faith," which shattered his worldview and took him several days to recover.

"Come with me to Zhuozhou the day after tomorrow." Liu Ce tossed the folded paper onto the table, saying casually, "We'll take the newly opened northern train line, and I'll show you something."

"... Yes." Liu Chen didn't dare to ask any more questions and obediently agreed. He was very anxious, wondering what his father wanted to take him to see. He felt that it was not a good thing and even lost his appetite for dinner.

The northern railway line (Luoyang → Zhuozhou) had only been open for a short time. The locomotive was called "Beizhenghao" (Northern Expedition), the same model as "Shenwuhao" (Divine Might). It was a large, dark iron lump that rattled and churned as it ran, emitting white smoke and looking quite imposing.